Identify the ports on your Mac

If you're not sure which port to use with your external display, hard drive, camera, printer, iPhone, iPad, or other device, the port shapes and symbols in this guide should help.

Information about these and other types of Mac ports is available in the specifications for your Mac: Choose Apple menu  > About This Mac, click Support, then click Specifications. Or check your Mac user guide.

Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C)

Use Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) with displays and other devices that connect using either a Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) cable or USB-C cable. You can also connect a USB-C power adapter and cable to charge your notebook computer. If you have a device that doesn't connect to this port, you might be able to use an adapter to connect it.

If your Mac has more than one port that looks like these, each port supports ThunderBolt 3 and USB-C.

USB-C

Use USB-C with displays and other devices that connect using a USB-C cable. You can also connect a USB-C power adapter and cable to charge your notebook computer. If you have a device that doesn't connect to this port, you might be able to use an adapter to connect it.

MacBook models introduced in 2015 or later have a single USB-C port. This port doesn't support Thunderbolt devices.

If your Mac has only one port that looks like this, it supports USB-C but not Thunderbolt.

Thunderbolt

Use Thunderbolt or Thunderbolt 2 with displays and other devices that connect using a Thunderbolt cable.

Thunderbolt and Thunderbolt 2 are not the same as Mini DisplayPort (they have the same shape, but use different symbols on the cable and port). However, this port does support Mini DisplayPort for video output, so you can use a Mini DisplayPort cable to connect a Mini DisplayPort display.

Mini DisplayPort

Use Mini DisplayPort with displays that connect using a Mini DisplayPort cable.

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